These tutorials will
get you started creating and editing labels, label styles, and tables.

In AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010, you can
annotate objects that exist in externally referenced drawings. This
keeps annotations separate from the design data. This greatly reduces
the file size of the annotation drawing, and allows greater flexibility
in managing design data.

Object labels in AutoCAD Civil 3D include
types that are placed automatically and others that you can place manually
at points of interest. Sometimes, automatic labels overlap other objects
and must be moved. Also, you may want to make some of them look different
from others.

Most objects in AutoCAD Civil 3D have
two types of labels. The first type is automatically created when
the object is created, as defined by the object properties. The
second type is a range of object labels that are manually applied
as needed. For both types of labels, you can edit the label style and
make changes to all labels that use that style. You can also modify
individual labels by moving them manually in the drawing. When labels
are moved, they assume their dragged state, which can use a different
display format. Some labels can be converted to small tags that
occupy less space in the drawing, and then the data for each tagged
object can be displayed in a table.

Labels are distinct objects
that are independent of the parent object that they annotate. Labels
are dynamically linked to their parent object and automatically
update when the parent object changes. However, labels reside on
a separate layer and are not selected when you select the parent object.

NotePoint,
parcel area, corridor, and surface watershed labels are not object
type labels. They are sub-entities of a parent object and their
properties are managed in the Label Properties dialog box.

You can move most labels
by simply selecting and dragging them. When you move a label, a
line and a direction arrow is automatically created, which points
back to the precise point annotated by the label. Also, you can flip
labels along a linear object, such as a parcel segment, to the other
side of the line.

The easiest way to change
the format of a label is by changing its style. If a suitable style
is not available, you can copy an existing style that is similar
to what you want, make the required changes, and save it as a new style.
You can also change the attributes of the existing style. This action requires
some forethought, because your changes affect all objects in the drawing
that use the style.

Label visibility can
be controlled in several ways. First, label visibility is dependent
on the parent object. When the layer of the parent object is either
turned off or frozen, its labels are also turned off or frozen.
The label style can also control its visibility. The visibility
of the individual label components, or the entire label object,
can be turned on or off in the style. An individual label can also
be selected and turned on or off using the Properties palette.